Luke 1:68-79 6 December 2009

Today’s lectionary is the Benedictus also known as the Song of Zechariah. It is the song of thanksgiving sung by Zechariah after the birth of his son John, who we know as John the Baptist.
I urge you to take a few minutes to read Luke 1:1-66 to get the context for the reading.

Luke 1:68-79

(67) Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:

‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favourably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty saviour for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’

(80) The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.

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Zechariah is a temple priest and John’s mother, Elizabeth, is a relative of Mary the mother of Jesus. When John appears publicly, he is at the Jordan River preaching a baptism of repentance, Luke 3:7-20.

Zechariah’s hymn is full of hope for a peaceful future at a time during a very bleak time in the history of his people. In this era of financial uncertainty and national decline how do people like us look for a “mighty savior… to rescue us from the hands of our enemies?” How do we look for “the dawn from on high…to guide our feet into the way of peace?” Or do we?